Thickness adjustable window frame construction



g- 30, 1966 J. H MEARS, JR 3,269,062

THICKNESS ADJUSTABLE WINDOW FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed March 23, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JOHN H. MEARs, TR

QZLFFWQQQJ gew W,

ATTORNEYS Aug. 30, 1966 J. H. MEARS, JR 3,259,062

THICKNESS ADJUSTABLE WINDOW FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed March 25, 1965 ig z 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3,269,962 Fatentetl August 30, 1966 3,269,062 THICKNESS ADEUSTABLE WKNDOW FRAME CUNSTRUETIUN John H. Meats, J12, Baltimore, Md. (Manor Vale Farm, Catonsvilie, Md. 21228) Filed Mar. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 442,081 8 Claims. (Cl. 49-565) The present invention relates in general to the construction of frames for wall openings, such as door frames, window frames, and the like, and more particularly to jamb extender members for use with wall opening frames to adapt such frames to various wall thicknesses.

Heretofore it has usually been necessary for manufacturers or fabricators of shop assembled window frames or door frames to know the wall thickness of the walls in which the frames are to be installed before producing such frames. With knowledge of the wall thicknesses, the manufacturer or fabricator can then increase or decrease the jamb width before the unit is delivered to the job. Because the ripping or furring of frame jambs to accommodate various wall thicknesses is a very costly procedure, it is economically impractical to so customize jambs for the wide variety of wall thicknesses that might be encountered. Efforts have been made to alleviate this problem somewhat by stocking several different jamb widths sized for some of the most commonly encountered wall thicknesses, but this has naturally increased the size of inventories that must be maintained by frame suppliers and still does not solve the basic problem of making readily available relatively low cost frames which can be properly fitted to the desirable wide variety of wall thicknesses. Such standardized jamb thicknesses as have been stocked by conventional suppliers represent a severe practical limitation on use of available building materials such as decorative wall boards, tiles, and the like, which would produce building wall thicknesses different from these chosen standard thicknesses.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel frame construction for wall openings such as window frames, door frames, and the like which will permit adjustment of the effective jamb width of the frame to an infinite variety of Wall thicknesses within a chosen range of limits.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel jamb extender member for window frames, door frames, or the like, which permits adaptation of the frame to any wall thickness between normally encountered minimum and maximum building wall thicknesses.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel jamb extender for adapting prefabricated window or door frame units to a wide variety of wall thicknesses, which permit a supplier to maintain only one stock of jamb widths, and adjustment of such single stock size to a variation of wall thicknesses on the job.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of such a jamb extender which also serves as the inside stop of a window frame assembly, thereby eliminating the additional cost of inside stop pieces.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, illustrating several preferred embodiments thereof.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a lower portion of a window frame constructed in accordance with the present invention, shown with adjacent portions of a building wall;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged horizontal section view of one jamb portion of the frame, taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a section view similar to FIGURE 2, showing a modified form of the jamb extender; and

FIGURE 4 is a section View similar to FIGURES 2 and 3, showing yet another form of jamb extender.

Referring to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures and particularly to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, there is shown a window frame assembly 10 constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, mounted in position in an opening 11 of a building wall 12. The frame assembly, fragmentarily shown in FIGURE 1, will be assumed for illustrative purposes to be installed in a conventional window opening framed by studding 13 in the usual manner, together with outer sheathing 14 and an inner wall mate rial 15, which may be dry wall, plaster, ornamental surfaced wall board, or other conventional inner wall surfacing materials.

The window frame assembly 10 comprises side jambs, a sill, and an upper jamb, forming a complete surround in the usual manner, portions of the side jamb 16 and the sill 17 being illustrated in FIGURE 1 as representative of the total window frame construction. The jamb portion of the window frame includes the usual pre-formed jamb member 18 which is conventionally produced in several stock sizes by the mill or manufactured in accordance with certain standardized building wall widths. An outer stop 19 is fixed, usually by nailing, to the outer edge of the jamb member 18, and an outer casing member or brick moulding 20 is fixed to the outer surface of the outer stop 19 and laps the adjacent portions of the building wall to close the space between the surfaces of the building wall opening 11 and the window frame assembly. The illustrated window frame assembly also includes a combined weather-strip and sash guide sheet metal member 21, as is the frequent practice in such units, defining guide channels into which inner and outer window sashes 22, 23 project.

An inner trim strip 24 is also provided, which in the illustrated embodiment is a strip of clamshell moulding having an inwardly opening groove 25 in the inner surface thereof.

To permit the width of the window frame with these standardized components to be readily sized to various building wall widths by workmen on the job without costly cutting by the job workmen, a novel jamb extender 26 is provided having a special shape to permit adjustment of the spacing between the inner end of jamb member 18 and inner trim member 25 over a wide range of wall widths. The jamb extender 26, shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, is inexpensively formed of sheet metal in a generally L-shaped or right-angular cross-sectional configuration comprising a relatively narrower leg or flange 27 and a relatively longer leg or flange 28, each meeting at a right angular corner or apex 29, and each having a recurved formation 30, 31, respectively, at their free ends as an optical safety feature to minimize sharp edges which may injure workmen. Each of the legs 27, 28 are also provided intermediate their width with a U-shaped channel deformation or tongue, 32, 33, preferably running the length of the extender and located a uniform distance from the corner of apex 29 corresponding to the width or extent of projection inwardly of inner jamb surface 18' desired for an inner blind stop, to aid in proper location of the jamb extender 26 relative to the jamb member 18.

The jamb extender 26, as illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, is adapted to be located with one leg, for example the leg 28, abutting against the inner end of jamb member 18 with the projecting channel deformation 33 located against the inner corner of jamb member 18, and be nailed to the latter, prior to installation of the inner trim member 24. The other leg, for example leg 27,

extends toward the inner trim member 24 and into the groove or recess 25 thereof.

It will be seen that the free end portion of the leg 27 may lap the adjacent side of the channel-shaped recess 25 over a substantial range of spacings of the inner trim member 24 from the adjacent end of the jamb member 18, thereby accommodating the window frame assembly to a range of building wall widths. For example, assuming the leg 27 to be inch in width and the groove or recess 25 in inner trim member 24 to have a depth of inch, and the jamb member 18 and blind stop 19 to have standardized 3 inches and 4 inch Widths, respectively, the above-described assembly would be adjustable to any building wall thicknesses between a minimum of 4% inches when the leg 27 is fully projected into the groove 25 and a maximum of about 4% when the leg 27 laps only A; inch into the groove 25. To extend the range of wall thickness variation, the other leg 28 may be of 1% inches width. With the narrowed leg 27 nailed against the inner end of the jamb member 18, this would accommodate the frame assembly to a wall thickness of 4 /3 inches when the leg 28 fully projects into the groove 25 and a wall thickness of 5 inches with the leg 28 lapping only /8 inch of the groove 25,

An alternate embodiment of the jamb extender is illustrated in FIGURE 3 and designated by the reference character 35. In this jamb extender 35 which is also formed of sheet metal, the extender is of Z-shaped configuration having a relatively narrower leg 36, an intermediate web 37 at right angles to the leg 35, and a longer leg 38 extending at right angles to web 37 in a direction opposite to that of leg 36 and in a plane paralleling and offset from the plane of leg 36. The web 37 is of a width to extend from the surface 18" of jamb member 18 nearest the studding 13 to a selected distance spaced toward the center of the window opening so as to form a suitable inner blind stop, as in the preceding embodiment. For example, the web 37 may have a width of one inch, the narrower leg 36 a width of inch, and the Wider leg 38 a width of 1 inches. The jamb extender 35 is assembled to the jamb member 18 by nailing the web 37 against the adjacent edge thereof with one of the legs, for example leg 38, butted against the surface 18" of the jamb member and the other leg 36 projecting toward the room or inwardly of the building wall, and the inner trim member 24 is then nailed to the building wall with the free end portion of the leg 36 lapping into the channel groove 25. Such an arrangement, as with the preceding embodiment, will permit adjustment of the window frame assembly to any building wall thicknesses between the minimums and maximums described for the preceding embodiment, the extender being mounable on the jamb member 18 with the leg 36 or the leg 38 directed toward the inner trim member 24, as desired.

Yet a third embodiment is illustrated in FIGURE 4, wherein the jamb extender 45 is milled of wood in an L-shaped configuration, and comprises a narrower leg 46 and a Wider leg 47 at mutual right angles to each other. The narrower leg 46 may be inch wide and the wider leg 1%; inches wide in one satisfactory embodiment, the legs each being inch thick. In this embodiment, concave grooves 48, 49 are formed in the surface of the legs 46, 47 respectively, designed to abut the inner end of the jamb member 18, to receive a tongue 50 on the inner jamb member edge and locate the jamb extender 45 so that the corner of the extender projects an appropriate distance toward the center of the window opening to form a blind stop. The jamb extender 45 is designed to be associated with the jamb member 18 and inner trim member 24 and coact therewith in the same manner as the extender 26 of FIGURES 1 and 2.

It will be apparent that when concrete block, poured concrete, or masonry walls are employed instead of stud walls, providing a basic wall thickness of about 8 inches rather than about 4 inches basic wall in studding construction, the jamb member 18 may be formed of a width similarly proportioned to the masonry or concrete wall thickness and the window frame assembly adjusted to the continuous range of wall thickness variations SlIIlilar to that obtainable with the specifically described embodiments by the use of the novel jamb extender.

The present invention permits significant savings to be realized both by the manufacturer or fabricator and by the contractor or purchaser. The fabricator needs only to stock a single basic size of jamb members for each different basic type of building wall, for example one size for stud walls and one size for 8 inches masonry or concrete walls. Thus costly ripping or furring of jamb to make small alterations in width are eliminated. This also permits the manufacturer to build window frame units ahead for stock during slow seasons, permitting further savings in cost, a contrasted with present methods which only permit assembly to order after wall thicknesses are determined.

Additionally, savings in actual installation costs are realized, as a window or door assembly with the novel jamb extender can be completely trimmed out in only a few minutes, for example about five minutes, as contrasted with the conventional methods requiring about one hour per opening. Because of the simplicity of the frame assembly, it is not necessary to use highly paid trim or finish carpenters.

The herein disclosed frame construction also eliminates or minimizes the costly factors of breakage, soilage and waste incident to conventional procedures wherein trim is delivered to the job in lineal lengths and fitted to each window by a high priced mechanic, as the jamb extenders and inner trim members of the present invention can be fully machined and packaged and delivered to the job according to opening size. Further, conventional trim precludes full machining as the stops and casing would not fit if the frame were out of square, whereas this problem is eliminated by the novel construction herein described.

While but a few preferred examples of the present invention have been particularly shown and described, it is apparent that various modifications may be made therein within the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be placed on the invention as are imposed by the prior art and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a frame assembly for window frames, door frames, and the like adapted to be installed in building wall openings in building walls of variable widths within a selected range, and including a jamb member of substantially rectangular cross section spaced from a bounding surface of the wall opening having a narrow substantially planiform inner surface facing inwardly of the building wall and surfaces extending perpendicular thereto; the improvement comprising an inner trim member to be secured to the inner surface of the building wall and extend in spaced covering relation to said inner surface of said jamb member to a point spaced toward the center of said opening from said inner surface, said inner trim member having a channel groove of selected depth therein opening toward said inner surface, and an integral jamb extender member of a length corresponding substantially to the length of said jamb member having a first and second legs having abutment surfaces corresponding to the configuration of said inner surface, either of said legs being mountable in coplanar butting relation on one of the surfaces of said jamb member with the other of said legs projecting from said inner surface in alignment with and into variably lapped relation in said channel groove, said legs being of different selected widths correlated to a range of building wall widths obtainable with various thicknesses of selected building wall inner surfacing materials to dispose the free end of the projecting leg of said jamb extender in lapped, relation in said channel groove over said range of building wall widths.

2. In a frame assembly for window frames, door frames, and the like adapted to be installed in building wall openings in building walls of variable widths within a selected range, and including a jamb member of substantially rectangular cross section spaced from a bounding surface of the wall opening having a narrow substantially planiform inner surface facing inwardly of the building wall and a second surface facing toward the center of the window opening; the improvement comprising an inner trim member to be secured to the inner surface of the building wall and extend in spaced cover ing relation to said inner surface of said jamb member to a point spaced toward the center of said opening from said inner surface, said inner trim member having a channel groove of selected depth therein opening toward said inner surface, and in integral jamb extender member having a first relatively narrow substantially planar leg and a second relatively wider substantially planar leg joined to said first leg and extending at right angles thereto, said legs having a thickness less than the width of said groove, either of said legs being mountable in coplanar butting relation on said inner surface of said jamb member with the other of said legs projecting therefrom in alignment with and into variably lapped relation in said channel groove, said legs being of different selected widths correlated to a range of building wall widths obtainable with various thicknesses of selected building wall inner surfacing materials to dispose the free end of the projecting leg of said jamb extender in lapped relation in said channel groove over said range of building wall widths.

3. In a frame assembly for window frames, door frames, and the like adapted to be installed in building wall openings in building walls of variable widths within a selected range, and including a jamb member of sub stantially rectangular cross section spaced from a bounding surface of the wall opening having a narrow substantially planiform inner surface facing inwardly of the building wall and a second surface facing toward the center of the window opening; the improvement comprising an inner trim member to be secured to the inner surface of the building wall and extend in spaced inwardly covering relation to said inner surface of said jamb unember to a point spaced toward the center of said opening from said second surface, said inner trim member having a channel groove of selected depth therein opening toward said inner surface, and a jamb extender member of integral sheet metal construction having a first relatively narrow substantially planar leg and a second relatively wider substantially planar leg joined to said first leg at an apex and extending at right angles thereto, either of said legs being mountable in coplanar butting relation on said inner surface of said jamb member with the other of said legs projecting therefrom in alignment with and into variably lapped relation in said channel groove, said legs each having a projecting rib deformed therein spaced equidistant from said apex to abut the juncture of said inner surface and said second surface of said jamb member to locate the butting leg in staggered relation to said inner surface for defining an inner blind-stop of a portion of said butting leg, said legs being of different selected widths correlated to a range of building wall widths obtainable with various thicknesses of selected building wall inner surfacing materials to dispose the free end of the projecting leg of said jamb extender in lapped relation in said channel groove over said range of building wall widths.

4. An assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein said jamb extender is an L-shaped member formed of sheet metal.

5. An assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein said jamb extender is an L-shaped member formed of sheet metal, said legs each having a channel-shaped deformation spaced uniformly from the juncture of said legs and extending the length thereof in parallelism with each other and with said juncture, the deformation on each leg projecting in a direction opposite the other leg to form a locating shoulder to engage said second surface and position said jamb extender to define an inner blind stop,

6. An assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said jamb extender is a Z-shaped member of sheet metal wherein said legs are disposed in offset parallel planes and are connected by a planar web extending perpendicular to said legs to abut said inner surface and dispose either of said legs in inwardly projecting relation thereto.

7. An assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein said web has a greater width than said inner surface correlated thereto to extend a portion of said web an appropriate distance toward the center of the window opening when one of said legs abuts a surface of said jamb member nearest said bounding surface of the wall opening to form an inner blind stop.

8. In a frame assembly for window frames, door frames, and the like adapted to be installed in building wall openings in building walls of variable widths within a selected range, and a jamb member of substantially rectangular cross section spaced from a bounding surface of the window opening having a substantially planiform inner surface facing inwardly of the building wall and a second surface facing toward the center of the window opening defining a sash bounding surface, an inner trim member secured to the inner surface of the building wall and extending in inwardly spaced covering relation to said inner surface of said jamb member to a point spaced toward the center of said opening from said second surface, said inner trim member having a channel groove of selected depth therein opening toward said inner surface, and a jamb extender member having a first relatively narrow substantially planar leg and a second relatively wider substantially planar leg extending at right angles thereto, said first leg being mounted in coplanar butting relation on said inner edge of said jamb member with said second leg projecting therefrom in alignment with and into lapped relation in said channel groove, said legs each being of a different selected width correlated to the depth of said groove and to a range of building wall widths obtainable with various thicknesses of selected building wall inner surfacing materials to dispose the free end of said second leg of said jamb extender in lapped relation in said channel groove over said range of building wall widths, and said leg widths being selected to provide adjoining ranges of variable spacing of said inner trim member from said inner surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,541,974 6/1925 Lane 20-69 1,995,233 3/1935 Triller 2011 2,185,650 1/1940 Shipway et al. 2012 2,662,255 12/1953 Serley et al. 20-12 X HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

' KENNETH DOWNEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A FRAME ASSEMBLY FOR WINDOW FRAMES, DOOR FRAMES, AND THE LIKE ADAPTED TO BE INSTALLED IN BUILDING WALL OPENINGS IN BUILDING WALL OF VARIABLE WIDTHS WITHIN A SELECTED RANGE, AND INCLUDING A JAMB MEMBER OF SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION SPACED FROM A BOUNDING SURFACE OF THE WALL OPENING HAVING A NARROW SUBSTANTIALLY PLANIFORM INNER SURFACE FACING INWARDLY OF THE BUILDING WALL AND SURFACE EXTENDING PERPENDICULAR THERETO; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING AN INNER TRIM MEMBER TO BE SECURED TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE BUILDING WALL AND EXTEND IN SPACED COVERING RELATION TO SAID INNER SURFACE OF SAID JAMB MEMBER TO A POINT SPACED TOWARD THE CENTER OF SAID OPENING FROM SAID INNER SURFACE, SAID INNER TRIM MEMBER HAVING A CHANNEL GROOVE OF SELECTED DEPTH THEREIN OPENING TOWARD SAID INNER SURFACE, AND AN INTEGRAL JAMB EXTENDER MEMBER OF A LENGTH CORRESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE LENGTH OF SAID JAMB MEMBER HAVING A FIRST AND SECOND LEGS HAVING ABUTMENT SURFACES CORRESPONDING TO THE CONFIGURATION OF SAID INNER SURFACE, EITHER OF SAID LEGS BEING MOUNTABLE IN COPLANAR BUTTING RELATION ON ONE OF THE SURFACE OF SAID JAMB MEMBER WITH THE 